Communities and access to services

Basic services such as healthcare, education, water and sanitation play an important role in reducing childhood poverty and vulnerability. Rapid global economic growth and targeted development initiatives have led to vast improvements in maternal health, higher rates of immunisation and more children attending primary school than ever before.

But these benefits are not being equally shared. 14 per cent of children in developing countries lack adequate access to healthcare. 93 million children are estimated to be out of school – the majority of them girls. Nearly 443 million school days are lost each year due to children drinking unclean water.

Young Lives research shows how inequalities in accessing basic services persist within, and between, different communities. We find that children who lives in the poorest households are often denied access to healthcare and education, or have access to poorer quality services, and children in urban communities obtain better services than those living in rural areas.